All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich, I'm just playing.

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A/N: Big thanks to xoc13 for the idea!

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Chapter 11: Lester, take 2

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The music is pounding as I survey the club, clocking where the guys and Steph are. We're here to snag and bag a frat boy who fancies himself a dealer. Rich daddy's boy likes to hang out up in the VIP room, and with Steph looking as good as she does, it should be an easy night. I think we all swallowed our tongue when she stepped out of the elevator in a short, sparkly black dress and sky-high booties. Her hair was teased to heaven and her loose curls drew attention to the cleavage barely contained by the low-cut neckline of said sparkly dress. She looks good tonight; she knows it, Ranger knows it, and we're all avoiding letting our gaze stay on her too long, lest the Bossman catches us admiring the view.

Ram has verified that James "Bam-Bam" Lucasi is right where we expected him to be; up in the lounge that overlooks the dance floor, entertaining a gaggle of college girls hoping to have some fun and maybe walk on the wild side by hooking up with one of his boys. The punk thinks he's the shit but got busted passing out pills at an off-campus party. Of course, he didn't bother showing up for his court date, which leads us to tonight's rodeo.

Steph is circling the club, dancing in and out of the crowd, finally drawing Bam-Bam's attention. He leans against the railing, watching her dance and run her hands down her torso. From my perch, I can see his interest and he graces her with a smirk when they make eye contact. But after a minute of watching, he turns his attention to someone else. Time to amp things up. I stroll out on the floor and pull Steph tight against me. We sway and grind to the music, with Ranger threatening me with bodily harm over the coms. I can feel eyes on us, and I do a sweep of the club as I turn Steph so her back is to my front. With a hand on her abdomen, I lean down and whisper. "He's no longer at the rail, but we're still being watched."

Steph squeezes my arm to indicate that she heard and understands. My eyes do another sweep of the club, and land on a dark-haired woman at the bar. She's wearing a sparkly, short dress like Steph, but in silver. She's perched on a stool, the position pulling the dress into peekaboo territory. I'm definitely willing to play! Steph leans into me and follows my line of sight. She smiles, telling me, "She's hot."

"She is."

"You going to make a move?"

We continue to move to the music as Steph deftly puts a little space between us after Ranger growls out another threat through the coms. Sounds like I'll be meeting him on the mats in the morning. "Maybe after we wrap things up. Want to get her number for me?"

The last part was a joke, but Steph squeezes my arm again. "Sure."

"Really?" I'm a little surprised, since she said she wouldn't help me.

We both continue to look at the hottie at the bar, and her eyes are on us as her tongue flicks out to lick the rim of her margarita glass. Oh, yeah; she's not immune to the Santos hip action on the dance floor. The mutual staring continues as Steph grabs my shirt and pulls me in close enough that she can speak into my free ear quietly enough that the coms won't pick up her words. "Really. You've seemed different the last couple weeks, like the free and easy you claim to want is all hot air. I caught the way you looked at Bobby when he told us about his last date with Alayna. And you've stopped making fun of Binkie and Zero."

That's true. All three couples are going strong, as are Hal and Kate and Tank and Jocelyn. They all just seem…happy. Content. Like they know something I don't. There're still plenty of the guys who don't mind hitting the clubs on the weekend, but it's starting to lose its shine. I'm not sure I want love dust sprinkled on my head, but spending time with someone might not be so bad. Especially if they were cool like Kate or Alayna.

Steph spins in my arms, throwing a glance at the bar over her shoulder. She smiles at the woman watching us before turning back to me. "After we get Bam-Bam out, I'll go chat her up and get her number."

I smile down at her, wondering how we're going to get the little fucker out of the lounge. We dance a little longer, with mystery woman's eyes still on us. I'm about to wave one of the guys over to change things up when Binkie alerts us that Bam-Bam is on the move. Thank fuck, at least the time on the mats will be worth it. I clock him moving through the crowd, heading straight for us with his attention directly on Steph. He grabs Steph's arm and pulls her toward him. Fucker actually uses his hands to shoo me away as he dances her further into the crowd in the middle of the floor.

With an exaggerated sigh, I let her go before posting up on the edge of the dance floor in case I need to get to her fast. I watch as Steph works her magic, and twenty minutes later Bam-Bam is locked down in the back of one of the Explorers and on his way to the pokey. Ram hands me a beer as Steph steps up to my potential soul mate. Their heads are bent together, and my pants get a little tight as we watch them lean in close and laugh. Eventually, Steph says something, and the woman lays her hand on Steph's arm. Steph's smile is wide, as is the woman's as she takes another sip of her drink. The woman watches as Steph walks towards me, and I'm a little disappointed that she's empty handed, meaning no phone number. Oh, well.

The music is loud as Steph walks up and grabs my beer, taking a long drink. My smile is genuine as I say, "Thanks for trying."

Steph smiles. "There's no trying. Dinner tomorrow at Costa Brava, 8pm. Don't be late."

Excellent. I look back at the bar, but my date is already gone. I turn back to Steph. "Don't suppose you got a name."

I get an eye roll. "Of course, I got a name. Lara."

Lara. I like it. A couple of us stay to dance, but Ranger whisks Steph away. After reminding me of my appointment on the mats, of course. You'd think he'd be appreciative of me moving the plan along, but no. It's all, don't touch my woman, Santos. Like either one of us would do him dirty. Maybe he'll chill out by their twentieth anniversary. But it's Ranger, so probably not. At least I have dinner with the delectable Lara to look forward to.

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Everyone is already seated as I walk in for the Monday morning meeting at the last possible second. I was off yesterday, so there's been no grilling on how my date went Saturday night. Well, Steph texted around noon yesterday and while I didn't want to get into it, I didn't have the heart to just blow her off, either. I settled for a generic, not a love match and then ignored my phone long enough for her to send eleven texts, ending with, we'll talk about this tomorrow.

I guess karma is catching up to me.

Not a love match. What a joke. I'm going to hear about this until I'm dead. At which point, my cousin will find a way to bring it up in the afterlife. If it happened to someone else, I'd beat that horse dead, too.

Tank drones on about some new procedure, Bobby reminds everyone about upcoming physicals, and Ranger discusses a new contract with the feds that will have us investigating some missing weapons. When prompted, I give a wrap up of Bam-Bam's takedown. Unfortunately, the leaves the door open for Tank to ask about my date.

All eyes are on me, waiting. I clear my throat. "Another one chalked up to just not feeling it."

Binkie snorts. "Bullshit. I saw you guys eyeing each other at the club. Spill. Did she have a closet freak-streak like Junior's date?"

"No."

Steph, sitting closer to Ranger than is necessary for a meeting, makes a continue motion with her hands, so I turn to Hal and ask about fleet maintenance. He answers but turns attention back on me. "Did she ghost you?"

I sigh. "No, she was there. We ate dinner and then parted ways."

My cousin smirks. "Not even a kiss? You losing your touch, primo?"

Fuck.

"I'm thinking there's something lover boy's not telling us." Shut up, Tank.

Junior leans forward to look around Cal. "I agree. Spill. Can it really be worse than mine?"

Uh, yes. Steph's looking at me expectantly and I know I'm screwed. "I wasn't what she was looking for."

Steph makes a face. "Meaning? She seemed pretty interested Friday night."

"I was there waiting for her at the restaurant, and she saw me and said, 'Oh. It's you.'"

"What? I mean… what?" Steph's looking at me, trying to figure out what I'm not saying. I shrug. I've had a day to think about it, and I'm almost to the laughing stage. Almost.

"Seriously, Lester. Why would she say that?"

And here's where the sky will open, and the shit will rain down. I make sure to look directly at Steph and only Steph. Mostly because I want to see her reaction. "She thought the date was with you and was very disappointed that she got me, instead."

There's silence for eight seconds. I know this, because I count out the beats. The laughter starts and soon everyone, even Steph, is laughing. The loudest is, of course, Junior. Or maybe it's Hal. Or is it Tank? Shit, even my cousin, who works hard to maintain a carefully blank and bland personality in front of the men, is laughing. Yep. Mark this day down as the day I broke Rangeman. Ram is laughing so hard he's wiping away tears. Asshole. Wait until it's his turn in the hot seat.

Steph suddenly stops laughing and looks around at all of us. Merriment gives way to shock. "Holy crap! Am I giving off that type of energy? Why would she be expecting me? Oh, wait. Damn. I asked if she was interested in dinner."

Bobby's still laughing. Thanks, bro. "Did you say the date was with Santos?"

"Well, no. But she had been eyeballing him, so I just assumed she knew."

I snort out a laugh. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Beautiful, but she was eyeballing you."

"Huh. Well, that's unexpected. But, really? I didn't get that vibe."

The fact that she can turn it on to get a mark out of a club but doesn't see her own appeal in a real situation is just one of the things we love about Steph. She's collected enough numbers and set up enough dates for us over the last couple months that we were bound to bump up against this situation. "She knew who you were, knew you broke up with Morelli. She spent most of dinner asking questions about you. Very pointedly asked if you were single."

Ranger stops laughing at that, and I finally have a reason to chuckle at his unhappiness. Steph goes still. "She knew I dated Joe but still thought I was meeting her for a date?"

"Right? I totally missed the opportunity to put out the word that dating the cop had you switching teams."

Steph looks both amused and horrified. I wait a second before adding, "No worries. I told her you were very much taken."

"By a man."

"I didn't specify."

She makes another face. "Nobody's going to think—"

Woody drawls out, "Approach enough women for their number, and someone's going to notice."

"They already have." We all look at Manny, who's dating a St. Francis labor and delivery nurse that lives in the Burg. "Rumor is that Steph's branching out and exploring her options. Cassie said Morelli looked practically apoplectic when he heard it."

Steph calms down enough to roll her eyes. "There's always some sort of bullshit rumor about me. At least this one is new, even if it puts my supply of pineapple upside down cake at risk. My mom's probably run out of things to iron at this point." She laughs. "Morelli's probably using it as the reason we never got back together. I wouldn't be surprised if he or someone in his family started it. His crazy grandmother did curse me when we broke up. Of course, she's been cursing me for years." She gives a what can you do shrug.

Ranger starts muttering, in Spanish, about disembowelment at the mention of the cop. Steph looks at him, waiting for an explanation and blows out a sigh when she doesn't get one. After a moment she tilts her head to the side, like she just thought of something before giving him a smile that definitely looks like trouble. I wouldn't mind a hot woman aiming a smile like that at me.

"You know what this means?" Ranger raises an eyebrow. Steph smirks before leaning into him, like she's about to impart a secret. "It means I can get myself some hot babes."

Every man in the room sucks in a breath at the image that conjures. Everyone except Ranger. He shakes his head and snakes an arm around her shoulders, pulling her as close as he can while they're both sitting, muttering, "Babe." And just like that, she's pulled him away from homicidal thoughts about the cop.

He gives her a smirk of his own, causing her to pull in a breath. "Besides, could a hot babe—" Whatever he asks her is quietly spoken into her ear. Between her eyes popping open and then slamming closed, the low, throaty moan she lets out, and the full flush she's got going on, I'd say whatever it is, my cousin will be getting very lucky tonight. Or at lunch. Bastard.

Several of the guys around me shift in their seats and cough. Claim re-staked, Ranger leans back with a shit eating grin on his face. Tank rolls his eyes and tries to get things back on track. The morning meeting is finally adjourned, and Steph follows me to my office. "I'm really sorry—"

I cut her off. "Not your fault. We both read the signs wrong. She seemed cool, just not into me." I laugh. "I wonder how many people lost money with betting on hook up?"

Steph's eyes widen before she, too, lets out a laugh. When she's done, she puts a hand on my arm. "I kind of hate that there's betting, but I understand it. I think I found someone for Ramon, and I'll keep an eye out for someone for you, too."

"If it happens, it happens." Shifting my weight, I ask, "What about Vince?"

She looks thoughtful. "Do you think he's ready?"

"He was a little flirty with a redhead at the club on Friday. And he broke up with Amy a while ago."

Steph nods. "Nearly eight months."

"Ask him. He might be interested in some casual dates. No harm in trying."

"Fair enough." She heads for the door. "Hey, I promised my nieces I'd take them to the carnival that's in town. Wanna come with tonight and win them some bears or something?"

Already knowing the answer, I ask anyway. "My cousin not going with?"

She does an impressive eye roll. "I don't remember his exact words, but he indicated he'd rather face an alien probe. Apparently, activities involving lots of screaming children and the oppressive smell of deep fried everything aren't covered in the boyfriend contract."

Can't really blame the man on the screaming kids front, but it can't be worse than a Manoso/Santos holiday. Besides, hanging out with Steph is guaranteed mayhem and fun. "Sure, but you're springing for a funnel cake."

"Done. I won't even tattle and earn you extra gym time."

"Appreciate that."

She smiles and heads for the door. "Hey, Steph?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm ready for more."

That gets me a bigger smile. "I know."